


Destiny

by orphan_account



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Ending, Death, Feels, Gen, Heavy Feels, Major character death - Freeform, Other, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-20 00:19:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7383385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pyrrha Nikos, Champion of Mistral and the would be Fall Maiden stands, or rather kneels before Cinder Fall, the new and improved Fall Maiden and victor over the auburn haired warrior woman, the only opponent to have bested Pyrrha. She accepts her loss, and readies herself to say goodbye to the world and her life, unfulfilled and left so open ended, only to end abruptly, only when Cinder's arrow misses the target, Pyrrha quickly wakes up to some horrifying extra seconds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Destiny

Pyrrha could hear the faint pattern of rapid footsteps coming. 

The huntress that was Pyrrha Nikos was already on her knees at the top of the tower with Cinder Fall, the new and completely unmatched Fall Maiden looming over her with eyes ablaze in orange and the remains of an arrow through Pyrrha’s heel that was completely burning its way up her leg and into her chest; a smoldering ember that made her lungs heave and struggle to breathe. There was even the taste of iron in her mouth

While she couldn’t distinguish where the footsteps were coming from or who they belonged to, she knew they wouldn’t get to her in time now, Cinder had her life on a thread.

It had been a horrendous fight, one that the redhead had been on the losing side of the entire way but it mattered not, she wasn’t fighting to win for she knew it was a fairly certain impossibility to do so alone when Ozpin had failed attempting the same. Pyrrha wasn’t fighting for herself, not for survival, hell she didn't think she deserved it. Nor was she fighting for her unshatterable sense of justice that Cinder had coming her way. Pyrrha was fighting Cinder to save everyone left at the docks of the school, holding the savage witch back from slaughtering them all. 

The burn from the arrow shaft still lodged through the small tendons of muscle and flesh in her heel made her squirm, the sharp shooting pain being near enough unbearable to take any longer. Her ribs were also aching in a fierce bout of agony from where her opponent had repeatedly beat her again and again. And yet as the heeled assailant in the red dress with her eyes burning with power and passion stood over it didn’t even look like Pyrrha had made a dent in her aura or nerve. She was even smiling almost.

Her burning eyes were the last sight sweet Pyrrha would ever see. 

Cinder held Pyrrha’s chin up for her defiant emerald eyes to stare into the burning amber orbs that belonged to her soon to be killer; the pleasure of the impending kill present as Pyrrha deduced what was to follow. 

The ill named Invincible Girl had tried and performed her best to defeat the Maiden but Cinder’s powers were just too much. Of course her powers were too strong, as Pyrrha knew; Cinder had dispatched Headmaster Ozpin as if he were a common thug and now that Milo was in three pieces scattered all around the shattered tower peak and Akouo was out of her reach Pyrrha was done for; she was completely and utterly dead in the water with no chance of relief. 

Still Pyrrha would not give up. When all said and done, weapons destroyed and aura broken the only thing that remained of her would always be her spirit and sense of righteousness. The redhead was a gladiator and a huntress to the bone and as long as there was still breath in her body she was not about to submit to Cinder, or anyone who would try and control her. 

Pyrrha looked deeply into the murderous eyes of her opponent and put to her a question that she had been asking herself for longer than she could remember. 

“Do you believe, in destiny?” Pyrrha asked Cinder in a harsh, resolute tongue that showed no sign of surrender even though her life was moments away from being cut short by the woman in the fiery dress. 

It was such a simple question, but it was such an appropriate one to ask. 

Pyrrha believed it was her destiny to save the world, or at least defend it to her last breath, which was coming in the next few moments. She believed it may have been her destiny to inherit the powers of the Fall Maiden herself, to merge with Amber and be a guardian for Remnant before the nasty trick of fate and Cinder’s plan had told her otherwise.

She also firmly believed that it was her destiny to meet all her friends and teammates at Beacon; Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, even Ruby Rose who had really been a breath of fresh air whenever the two spoke. To become a source of compassion and reinforcement in their lives, and for them to be the same in hers; they had as well, dust, they had been such a vibrant and sparkling light in her life and she was so grateful for them.

That was when Pyrrha’s mind suddenly left herself, her body remaining frozen with Cinder holding her sharp chin to gaze into her eyes with a sultry expression, one of powerful dominance. But Pyrrha’s thoughts were not on Cinder, nor of her teammates but of how she was about to be killed in mere seconds to leave behind all of those friends, for her flame to leave their lives and be snuffed out suddenly.

Then she thought of Ruby and how she had hurt her so greatly by murdering Penny. Pyrrha had been savagely ruthless in her own twisted self defense and now because of it, the redhead could safely class herself no better than Cinder or even Roman Torchwick; a murderer.

An image of the poor ginger girl, not android but girl, on the floor of the arena in four separate pieces filled Pyrrha’s mind with regret and disgust.

Pyrrha was sorry for it. Oh by dust, was she was so sorry for it. For killing Penny no matter how hard she tried not to or how manipulated she was to do it. She was sorry for killing Ruby’s friend so abruptly and making her watch, making the sweet and innocent huntress pick up one of the ginger’s blades to save Pyrrha’s worthless self from the Nevermore. 

But what really began to play on her mind was how sorry she was for not having the chance to fully apologise to Ruby for doing it. And that hurt Pyrrha more intimately than the woman standing before her could ever do. 

What surprised the Invincible Girl, however, was the lone tear that marred the otherwise perfectly boiling point of fire that made up Cinder’s amber eyes. Yet the tall Maiden didn’t shy away when she stared back at emerald eyes.

“Yes. I do.”

She left Pyrrha kneeling up straight as she took a single step back and formed her glass bow from the scattered pieces; her new Maiden powers becoming second nature to her as another arrow formed from nothingness with the glowing flame held within glistening in the night, reminding Pyrrha who was the victor and who was the loser, about to be laying across the floor with nought but a name to her lifeless body;

Pyrrha Nikos; the failed defender of Vale and the reason for its destruction, no matter what destiny dictated. 

“Behold, what true power really looks like.”

She aimed the arrow right at Pyrrha’s chest, no, at her heart and with a smile on her face she let go of the non-existent string to release the glass at a near impossible speed. 

Pyrrha held her breath, letting her destiny take its flow and silence her as she knew it was about to. She barely felt her emerald eyes closing and her heart threatening to stop before the arrow would strike through her skin and end her.

But it didn’t hit the mark.

It simply did not end her. 

She was still breathing and, apart from the shaft in her heel and the fading taste of iron in her mouth she was still very much alive and breathing. But where was the arrow? 

It didn’t matter for now, Cinder was still standing in front of her in equal amounts of shock and ferocity over the missing arrow. Pyrrha used her semblance to quickly call Akouo to her hand while her opponent was still stunned. With a powerful throw the shield went hurdling towards Cinder’s bust, knocking her away and off the tower with her powers, her weapon and her desire to fight, with her. She had won either way and Pyrrha was not foolish to chase her while injured. Cinder simply propelled herself to safety; away from Pyrrha and away from Beacon as it crumbled; with the Grimm circling around the tower before following its master, leaving the ruin of Beacon to the Beowulfs and Nevermore incoming slowly but surely. 

But where had the arrow gone? 

It was in her bow one second and then gone the next but where? 

Pyrrha looked around to find out what had caused the sudden trick of fate and as soon as she saw the result of her saving grace she instantly wished to revert time and have it strike her heart instead. 

Hitting her heart would be less painful than what had really happened. 

Over at the edge of the shattered clock tower, near the remains of the cogs and gears lay the arrow’s new victim; a young girl at the age of fifteen with a short bob of raven hair and a cloak of red which she wore almost every second of every day. She was small, too small for anything ferocious yet that was what she was in the arena with a weapon twice the size of her and a team, a family more loving and large than anyone else had at Beacon. She had more love in her heart than anyone the Invincible Girl had ever known and the fact that she was laying on her side at the far edge of the tower made Pyrrha’s body simply stop. 

Her heart churned in her chest, skipped a beat and completely sank, swelling up on the dread, regret, anger and every other negative emotion Pyrrha had ever felt before when she realised who had saved her. 

The arrow, had struck Ruby Rose. 

When Cinder had fired the lethal blow Ruby must have activated her semblance and whipped right in front of Pyrrha’s chest, allowing the arrow to strike herself instead of killing the emerald eyed gladiator. Of course only Ruby was capable of such a selfless act to actually go through with it without a second thought. No one else Pyrrha knew was pure enough or gallant enough to sacrifice themselves for her, or anyone, for that matter, especially in the manner in which Ruby had.

“No,” Pyrrha breathed with the extra breath she knew she should not be breathing on the account of the little girl with the arrow in her chest. 

“Ruby.”

The little huntress was wheezing quite heavily when Pyrrha managed to crawl over to her and cradle the poor girl in her arms, her small head nestled in Pyrrha’s lap so meekly despite the racing short breaths she was breathing until her least began to encroach. 

It was completely helpless. Ruby was completely helpless. The arrow was completely embedded in her chest and had fully pierced through her small frame and with the fire imbued in it, as Pyrrha could feel in her foot, there was no telling how much damage was actually done. 

There was absolutely nothing Pyrrha could do at all to save her. The Invincible Girl had failed the little huntress, again.

Pyrrha was already sobbing while Ruby was struggling to breath, the rest of her life being cut off due to the redhead’s mistakes and miscalculations.

“Ruby! Oh dust, Ruby!” Pyrrha shouted to the huntress in her arms, tears flooding down her face and landing on the younger girl’s black outfit while the wind carried her red cloak off along the current and away from the tower to float along in the endless night. The signature piece of Ruby’s ensemble must have come undone when she landed so violently. 

Ruby was smiling however as Pyrrha stroked her cheek tenderly, the younger girl consumed by a daze of shock that kept the pain from overwhelming. 

“Hey, P… Pyrrha” Ruby wheezed out slowly, only a few breaths left in her. 

Her expression and airy words completely made Pyrrha want to gag with guilt and hatred for herself. It was all her fault. All her stupid fault from the start and she knew it. If only she had thrown the fight against Penny, refused to kill her to win then maybe the whole night would have transpired differently and Ruby wouldn’t be dying in her arms making her want to vomit with the grief. 

Pyrrha was nearly choking on her tears, forcing herself not to as she balled uncontrollably. 

She let out a large cry into the open air full of rage and wrath.

“Why did you do that Ruby?” Pyrrha breathed through the torrential sobs and stolen breath, with the stilled burning sensation running up her leg and into her gut again, making every breath one of fire.

The younger girl was still smiling, blissfully content with her spur of the moment decision even considering the results, which now looked most bleak indeed. 

“I…” Ruby was struggling so. “I couldn’t let you die Pyrrha” she squeaked innocently in barely a whisper.

Pyrrha lifted Ruby’s chest to her face, sobbing into her dying friend and hearing her heartbeat slow and slow until she could hardly even hear it. The redhead let out another weep and an almost choking sigh as Ruby let out one weak last breath.  
Her heart stopped.

Instead of just remaining a limp and lifeless shell with nothing left inside Ruby began to glow. She shone a most vibrant and angelic shade of orange and bronze after a flash of light, her silver eyes still open but dull and void. Pyrrha was confused, her anger subsiding to despair and her body just broken still. Her tears briefly paused although Ruby was dead and as the Invincible Girl could feel the heat leave her young friend’s body the rest of it began to fade from the orange glow. 

With the wind blowing past Pyrrha, Ruby began to turn to a form of dust, a trail of small and completely lifeless orange wisps, following the wind up and away from where she was laying. 

In the span of a few seconds Ruby Rose was completely gone, nothing remaining but the silver rose symbol that had been over her black belt, which now lay in Pyrrha’s hands. On the cusp of the winds Pyrrha could hear one last echoing resonance from her lost friend. 

“Don’t forget me Pyrrha. Don’t let anyone forget me.”

Pyrrha clutched the belt buckle of silver tightly in her gloved hands and wept to herself in silence as a crash of thunder ricochet across the night and a torrent of rain began to fall upon Beacon. 

“I won’t forget you Ruby. I won’t let anyone forget you.”

Pyrrha Nikos then looked up the sky with her eyes still engulfed in the swell of her weeping, the droplets from the rain landing on her cheeks one by one until the swath of rainfall came down, drenching her autumn red hair and soaking her entire body. 

“It should have been me” she whispered to herself. “It should have been me!”


End file.
